The Way It All Began
by LlaraTheExplorer
Summary: "He knew you always would, because he watched from a distance that day. He saw you pull it over your head and smile that beautiful smile when you were warm. He knew that even if he never saw his hoodie again, he was satisfied knowing that he had made a difference in your day." Oneshot. ZeLink. AU. Read and review! (:


**Hi there, readers!**

**Yet another cheesy Zelda Oneshot.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The girl shivered and pulled her thin jacket tighter around herself. Another gust of wind blew in her face, and she wished that she'd brought a heavier coat. _It's almost cold enough to start snowing. _She picked up her pace in an attempt to get out of the cold faster. She was walking along the sidewalk, with a road full of cars to her left and shops to her right. People brushed past her, looking as occupied as she did. The sky was blue, there were no clouds, but the sun wasn't high enough yet to get rid of all this cold air.

She looked down at the hoodie she was wearing. It was emerald green, with white strings at the top. It was too big for her, but she liked wearing it because it was comfortable. She'd almost forgotten the history behind it, the mystery. It came back to her then, what had happened so long ago.

_Her younger self sat at the bus stop, shaking due to the cold. She didn't want to go to school, but for once, she wished that the bus would get here, because it would be warmer. In her rush to get out the door, she had forgotten to grab a coat. She knew her mom would be upset when she found out._

_She saw out of the corner of her eyes someone sit down next to her on the bench. She didn't look up, but she tried to quiet down her shaky breathing. Then she felt the person's eyes on her. She knew it was a boy, she could tell. But he didn't say a word. Instead, he started moving. She still didn't look up._

_In a few moments, she realized something was different. She finally looked over. The boy was gone. Then she felt something soft on her hand. She looked down, and there laid a green hoodie, the one the boy had been wearing, at the end of her fingertips._

_She gently touched it as if it were fragile, picking it up with care and looking at it. Did he leave it for her? She felt bad that she had his hoodie, but it was so warm. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she pulled the hoodie slowly over her head. It was warm, soft, and it smelled nice._

"_I hope one day I can meet him again, so I can repay his kindness."_

The girl smiled as she recalled the memory. That was four years ago, before she had graduated high school. She was twenty-one now, and studying at Hyrule University. She was staying in the student dormitories with some of her friends.

_I really do hope we cross paths again one day._

She heard a grunt and snapped back to reality, realizing she had almost run into someone. She looked up at them and smiled, annoying their ignored face.

"Sorry."

_Pull yourself together, Zelda. What are the chances you'll see him again?_

Moving through the people, Zelda continued to her destination.

* * *

The boy tugged at his clothes in the mirror. He ruffled up his hair and turned around, satisfied. Hearing a noise, he turned toward his window. That annoying tree was hitting the side of his apartment. He rolled his eyes, but turned to his closet. He knew it would be chilly if it was windy. As he looked at his coats, he thought of his favorite one. It was long gone, and this was bittersweet, because he missed it, but he figured it was getting good use. He grabbed a random one and pulled it on, heading out the door.

_Things have a way of turning out the way they should. Maybe it'll come back to me one day._

He stepped outside and started walking. He had classes at the University, but he was on his way to stop at his favorite café for lunch before he went to his classes. It was tradition unless he had morning classes. He ate breakfast at home on those days. He was reaching up to pull his hood over his head when he heard a voice.

"Link!"

He sighed. He knew that voice all too well. He put on a fake smile and turned to his neighbor, Malon. He couldn't step out of his door without being seen by her. _She's a nice girl and all, but I'm pretty sure she stalks me. _She lived in one of the apartments on the floor above. He looked up and she was leaning against the railing outside her door, where she had a perfect view of his door on the next floor down. Her long red hair was falling around her face and down her back, and she was brightly smiling at him.

"Hi, Malon." He said in a calm but friendly voice. "What are you doing out here?"

She smiled. "Just getting some fresh air. Off to your classes, I presume?"

"Do you even need to ask?" He said, chuckling. "How's that dream of yours coming, Malon?"

She had a fantasy about one day, moving out of these little apartments and buying a farm. She wanted to raise horses and cows and chickens. She wanted to live out in the country where she could breathe the fresh air and ride her horses all over her acres. He could see her doing it, she was a country girl. Even though he wished she'd back off a little, he still wished the best for her and thought everyone deserved to live their dream.

She sighed a happy, but longing sigh. "I really hope I can go soon. I want it more than anything. I need to work up enough money to get out there on the farm first. Of course, it'd be better if I had someone to help me fulfill my goals."

_And there's my cue to leave._

He forced a smile. "I wish you the best of luck, Malon. But I'd better be going."

She looked down at him with a sad smile. "Goodbye, Link."

Giving her one last glance, he trudged down the stairs. He heard her open her door and go back inside.

Link knew she wanted him to marry her and take her out to the farm and live her dream with her forever. But he didn't return her feelings, and that's not the life he always imagined. He wanted to live in the city, a small and quiet one. Like Malon, he didn't prefer the loud city life, but he didn't want to be far away in the country either.

As he walked out to his car, he realized how lonely he actually was. He had already been going to college for several years and was going to graduate soon. Most college students found their ideal girl or boy pretty quickly, but he had very little luck finding a girl who shared his dreams.

He started his car and drove out to his favorite place, the café. Hopefully it would distract his mind from thinking about his pathetic life.

* * *

Zelda approached the doors of her favorite café. She usually met her friends for lunch here on days when their class schedules did not interfere, but today, her roommates were all out on dates, leaving her alone. Again.

She sighed and heaved the doors of the Cucco Shack open. She was glad to be in the warmth, and strolled up to the counter eagerly. She placed her order and turned around, looking for an empty booth. She spotted one a little ways away near the window and walked to it. She pulled her laptop out of her bag and worked on some of her assignments as she waited for her food to come to the table. As she waited, she realized that it was too warm inside and the desire to remover her hoodie was growing. She took the hoodie off and tucked it away inside her bag.

Although the noises of her laptop and of the people around her were not quiet, she enjoyed the peace she felt here at the café. It gave her a break from school work, and from watching her roommates bring guys around and rub in her face that she didn't have one.

Guys have shown interest in her before, but things never went far. Although most of them were nice, she always seemed like they wouldn't be compatible. They had all wanted different things in life than she did. She was happy hanging out with her friends, but it was also true that she longed to feel like her roommates did. They were always so happy after they had spent time with their special person.

She was also concerned about what she was going to do after she graduated. She was almost done with college and she knew she was going to pursue a career in her major, but she didn't know if it would be enough to get on her feet. She didn't want to have to resort to returning home to her parents. That would be embarrassing.

"Miss?"

Realizing someone had addressed her, she looked up.

A waitress stood there holding a plate and a cup. Zelda reached up and took them. "Thank you." She said, smiling. She put her laptop away in her bag and directed her attention to the plate in front of her.

She had barely picked up her fork when she was interrupted again.

"Um, excuse me…" She heard a friendly but cautious voice say.

_Now what?_

"Yes?" She said as she looked up.

A man stood there. He was looking down at her with blue eyes that shone out from underneath his blonde hair. He was carrying a black messenger bag over his shoulder, gripping the strap. His other hand was occupied with a cell phone. He was wearing a black jacket over a gray shirt, with blue jeans and sneakers below. It was casual, but still neat.

He looked extremely nervous for a split second, but composed himself quickly and sent her a dorky grin. "All the other seats and booths are taken. Do you mind if I share your booth with you? I'll try to be quiet."

Zelda laughed. "Go right ahead." He relaxed a little when she laughed, and slid into the booth. He tucked his bag into the booth next to him. "You may have promised you'd be quiet, but I never said I would be." She said, grinning. "Will you tell me your name?"

He looked surprised at first, but grinned as he leaned across the table to get in closer. "I'll tell you," he said quietly, "if you give me one of your fries." He pointed to her plate.

Zelda laughed. She picked one up and tossed it lightly across the table. He grinned before leaning back to catch it in his mouth with surprising accuracy. She grabbed the ketchup bottle as he held his mouth open expectantly, and squirted ketchup into his mouth. She was having fun, but her behavior surprised her. She wasn't usually so friendly with people she didn't know.

He finished swallowing, and laughed when he was able to again. "A deal's a deal. My name's Link. What's yours?"

They were interrupted as the waitress came by and put Link's plate and cup down in front of him. He smiled up at her, gave thanks, and turned back to Zelda as the waitress walked away.

Mimicking his moves from earlier, she leaned closely across the table. He chuckled but waited for her to speak. "I'll tell you if you give me a drink of your smoothie." She could see the bright color of the smoothie behind the clear cup, and she had only ordered water. Grinning, he pushed the cup across the table and she swiped it up, taking a sip before pushing the cup back to him.

"My name is Zelda." She said, smiling.

"Well, Zelda, it's lovely to meet you."

* * *

The two continued to talk for the next hour while they ate their lunch. They talked about their majors, their families, and stories about their childhood.

"So there I was, standing on the roof, about to try to impress my friends by making this perfect landing, and then my mom comes out. Oh, man, was she mad." Link said, grinning. "I was grounded for a week."

Zelda laughed. They had been exchanging stories back and forth for a while, and she hadn't had this much fun in a long time. So when she looked down at her phone, she sighed.

"My class is starting soon, and even though this café is on campus, I still have to have time to walk to my building. So I'd better go…" Zelda said.

"I have to walk down to my building too, so can I escort you?"

Zelda paused. "Your car is right outside the café."

Link grinned. "I can come back for it after my classes, this is still on campus. Please?" He said, his hands together in a pleading manner.

She grinned. Zelda stood up and grabbed her bag, putting it over her shoulder. She then held out her arm and looked at him expectantly. He cheered and leaped out of the seat, grabbing his bag and taking her arm. She giggled at how excited he got.

They stepped outside the café and began to walk the 10 minutes to their buildings, when a breeze came by and reminded Zelda why she had brought the hoodie. She shivered and stopped walking.

"Oh, do you want my jacket?" Link asked.

She smiled. "No, but thank you. I brought one. Can you just hold my purse while I put it on?" He took the purse, slung it over his shoulder, and struck a pose. She laughed and reached under his arm to pull the hoodie out. "You're a dork."

As she pulled the emerald green hoodie over her head, she was reminded how soft and warm it was. When the jacket was over her head and falling loosely down her waist, she noticed a funny expression on Link's face.

_I never noticed before how much she looks like that girl I gave the jacket to, and now she's wearing it. _Link thought. But _I can't be totally positive that it's her until I make sure._

His funny expression turned into a simple smile when he spoke. "What a unique green for a jacket, you don't see many like it. Where did you get it?"

Zelda looked down at the jacket and smiled, then looked back up at Link. "It's actually a pretty cool story. I'll tell you while we walk." They began to head down to their buildings, and she spoke again. "I was a senior at Hyrule High School. My parents had to leave earlier that morning so I didn't have a car to drive myself to school. I went out to the bus stop and waited, and that's when I realized how cold it was. But I knew if I went back home to get a jacket, my bus would come while I was gone. So I endured for a little while. A few minutes later, a boy came and sat down next to me. I didn't look up, so as to avoid an awkward situation. I could feel him looking at me for a while. Then-" Zelda stopped as Link cut her off.

"He decided that to be a hero, that he would sacrifice his favorite hoodie for the beautiful girl who wouldn't look at him. He took it off and laid it next to you, and then he left." Link said casually, smiling slightly.

_Wait, what? How-?_

_Oh._

_Oh my farore._

_Is this really happening?_

After she recovered from her shock, Zelda returned his small smile, and continued. "And when I saw that hoodie next to my hand, I knew that it was a gift from that kind boy who had been so thoughtful, and I treasured that gift for years to come."

"He knew you always would, because he watched from a distance that day. He saw you pull it over your head and smile that beautiful smile when you were warm. He knew that even if he never saw his hoodie again, he was satisfied knowing that he had made a difference in your day." His voice grew tender and soft as he spoke. He stopped walking, turned to her, and stepped closer.

She reciprocated his actions as she spoke again, softer than before. "And I knew I would remember that day forever, so that one day I could thank the boy for his kindness that day." Link took her waist with his left hand and her cheek with his right. Zelda lifted her hands and wrapped them around his neck. As he pulled her in closer, she spoke once more, barely a whisper. "Thank you." He smiled and planted a gentle kiss into her hair.

"I finally found you, the girl who's harbored my favorite hoodie all these years." He glanced down as his right hand played with her hair. "It's like a dress on you, you're so small."

"Or maybe you're just freakishly tall."

Laughing quietly, he used the hand still on her face to gently take her chin. She tilted her head up and received him eagerly as he kissed her.

At that moment, life was perfect for Zelda as she returned the kiss. She had found that nice boy who helped her so many years ago, and now he was a handsome man who made her feel like no one else could: unbelievably happy.

He pulled away after a few moments and moved his arms down to her waist, wrapping them around her and pulling her in. She tightened around his neck as she buried her face in his neck. She breathed in his scent, which she realized was the same one she originally smelled on the jacket years ago.

Zelda was more than content to sit there in his arms forever, but then she realized something. "Oh, do you want the hoodie back?"

He laughed quietly. "No. If you keep it, I have an excuse to come and see you every day." He grinned, nudging her with his nose gently. Zelda giggled softly.

"Come on, dork, let's go to class."

"On one condition." He said with a sly grin.

_Of course. _"And what is that?"

"You meet me here for lunch tomorrow so we can do this all over again."

* * *

**[AN: Now in First Person, Zelda POV]**

It has been two years since I reunited with my high school hero. We graduated recently, and everything was perfect. He actually proposed in front of everyone during the graduation ceremony. We spend every moment together that we can in between our busy work schedules. We are working hard to prepare for buying our own place and moving in together after we get married in a month. We are both living our dreams and we can't wait to start a new life together, hopefully with some little ones once we're ready.

Link's neighbor, Malon, met her dream cowboy and moved out to her farm with him. Link and I want to go visit them out there someday. I hear they're happy and are having lots of success.

Link and I don't work today, so we're spending time together at his apartment. We've been doing a lot of cleaning and such to get it ready for Link to move out. The new place that we are going to get together is going to be closer to his work and away from this college that we graduated from.

I was making an attempt to clean Link's cupboards, but it was like they hadn't been cleaned since he moved in.

"Link, did you ever clean these cupboards? Ugh!" I groaned as I attempted to clean off this stubborn spot.

I heard him laugh from in the bathroom where he was cleaning and sanitizing in there. I heard his footsteps coming closer, and pretty soon his face was above mine as he leaned over the counter while I sat on the floor scrubbing the cupboard doors.

He was grinning that heart-melting grin again. "Cleaning? What is 'cleaning'?"

I promptly smacked him with my rag, and he laughed again as he jumped up, slid over the counter and landed on the floor next to me.

I sighed. "I just cleaned those counters!"

He grinned, reached over and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me in for a quick kiss on the mouth. After he pulled back, we sat there in each other's arms on the kitchen floor. Not exactly the most romantic spot, but believe me when I say I couldn't be happier.

"Can you believe this? Us, I mean?" I said, sighing happily.

He kissed my nose. "I know what you mean. Our story is definitely an interesting one. It'll be great to tell the kids someday."

I closed my eyes and smiled as I leaned back against him. "And it all started with a jacket."

* * *

**Done! Woohoo!**

**I hope you enjoyed it! **

**Review please! If there's anything I can be doing better, tell me!**

**Thank you!**


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